Off-Duty Firefighter Punches Through Roof and Saves Woman Running Out of Air

May 25, 2026

An off-duty firefighter rescued a trapped woman from her submerged car in Queens by punching through her sunroof during dangerous flash flooding, turning a terrifying night on a New York highway into an unforgettable story of courage and survival.

Travis Langan / Credit: FDNY

Travis Langan, an off-duty FDNY firefighter and former U.S. Marine, was driving home Wednesday night when powerful floodwaters overwhelmed parts of the Jackie Robinson Parkway. As rain poured down and cars became stranded in rising water, Langan spotted several vehicles nearly underwater and immediately pulled over to help.

One of those drivers was elementary school principal Carmen Pinto, whose Tesla Model 3 had stopped working as floodwaters rapidly filled the vehicle. Pinto said she tried desperately to escape, but nothing was responding.

She attempted to open the doors, roll down the windows, and call 911, but the water kept rising.

“I was trying to keep my head as close to the sunroof as possible because the water had come up that far,” Pinto said. “I really thought that was 'it'.”

According to Langan, a bystander pointed out Pinto’s car as she pressed herself against the sunroof, running out of room to breathe. He climbed onto the vehicle and began smashing at the glass with his bare hands.

“I just started punching my way through,” Langan recalled. “I got a big enough hole.”

Then came an unlikely rescue tool.

“She actually handed me this Yeti cup, and I just started wailing away at the sunroof with the Yeti cup,” he said. “I started ripping the glass.”

Langan was eventually able to pull Pinto through the opening and bring her to safety.

The dramatic rescue was captured in photos that quickly spread online, and on Friday the pair reunited at FDNY headquarters, where Langan was honored by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore.

Pinto became emotional as she thanked the man she believes saved her life.

“I am so happy and so blessed that I was sent an angel,” she said.

She noted that Langan could have easily driven home to his pregnant wife and daughters instead of risking himself in dangerous floodwaters.

“Travis never thought of himself,” Pinto said. “But he stopped.”

Mayor Mamdani praised Langan for making a split-second decision that saved a life.

“This is a man whose first instinct is to help, to protect, to serve, and to save,” the mayor said. “Because of his bravery, Mrs. Pinto will sit down to dinner with her family this evening.”